The ABORNE Workshop brought together academic researchers and practitioners from governance institutions in Europe, Africa, and North America. With its focused overall theme the workshop aimed at creating a forum in which researchers and practitioners could reflect on the past and ongoing successes and shortcomings of specific examples of transnational conservation efforts in Africa. It was also meant to probe into the rationale behind the resource governance model of opening up transboundary conservation areas through dedicated land use for wilderness tourism. Philosophical aspects connected to the age-old dichotomy between nature and culture were likewise under academic scrutiny. Most importantly, the discussions between scholars from a variety of different academic fields and practitioners actually involved in the designing and implementation of transfrontier conservation zones were welcome contributions towards a better understanding of processes of inclusion and exclusion. Sometimes quite tense yet always constructive exchanges developed into a fruitful dialogue on the potentials and limits of re-spatialization efforts in African borderlands for local communities. This said, the discourse did not stop short to question certain construction of “community” now remnant in the developmental discourse. Thus, the dimension of power was a recurring theme, in such a way as to enquire how nature conservation may contribute to a revised and hopefully improved distribution of all possible benefits from transfrontier areas.
